Harikrishna to lead Indian Olympiad Team without Anand

Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand is again set to skip the Chess Olympiad which is scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from September 1. Although the Indian team for the tournament is yet to be announced but Anand is reported to be unavailable for the meet. The India No. 1 is now busy playing in the Grand Chess Tour, the third leg of which will be held in Saint Louis, USA, from August 19 to September 2.

However, the reigning World chess champion Magnus Carlsen will represent his country Norway in the tournament. The World No. 1 will be defending his World crown against Russian Grandmaster Sergey Karkajin in November this year.

In Anand’s absence, India No. 2 Pentala Harikrishna is likely to lead the side. India had won their first-ever medal — a bronze in the last edition of the tournament in Tromso, Norway in 2014.

However, the availability of the players will decide the final team, as almost all the top-ranked Indian players take part in different tournaments all across the globe throughout the year.

Most of the countries have already announced their team for the prestigious world event. But All Indian Chess Federation (AICF) is waiting for the latest rating list which will be announced on August 1.

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